Avon Residents Oppose Housing Development

AVON — — Plans to build 57 homes in a wooded area between Haynes and Lenox roads have drawn opposition from residents of the neighborhood at public hearings held recently..

Town land use boards are reviewing that project, which would include 23 single-family homes and 34 condominiums on 44.5 acres, and on Tuesday the inland wetlands commission held a hearing on it. About 40 residents attended that hearing and many spoke against the plan.

Consultants for the developer, Sunlight Construction, insisted the plan would not hurt wetlands in the area. But residents who live in the neighborhood said they worry that it would do just that.

"I don't think any developer should request the density that they want," said Jack Bowne. He said he is worried about the potential for deterioration of a stream that runs through the neighborhood from runoff that would be created by the development.

Those concerns were shared by others who spoke on Tuesday, including some who were also worried about the impact of bringing a sewer line through wetlands and water control basins.

No decision was made on Tuesday and it may wait until the commission meets in May.

Tuesday's hearing came because a petition demanding one was submitted by residents. At least 25 residents had to sign the petition for it to be valid and it had 37 signatures, according to town staff.

The project may receive a similarly hostile reception when it comes before the planning and zoning commission on April 9. That commission started its own hearing on March 19 and and according to minutes of that meeting nearly 30 people from the neighborhood spoke, many in opposition.

Concerns raised during the PZC's March 19 hearing included the potential for increased traffic through the Haynes Road neighborhood. The developer's intent is to put a road through the development that would connect Haynes and Lenox roads, creating a connection between Hollister and West Avon Roads.

Others were worried that the condos would be out of character with the existing neighborhood, which now consists entirely of single-family homes on lots with at least 30,000 square feet.

"I don't want condos, none of us do," Laurie Vaillancourt-Pugsley, a resident of Haynes Road, said in an interview after the PZC's hearing. "The density is not welcomed by any of us."

The PZC will continue its hearing on the plans when it meets on April 9 but cannot make a decision until the wetlands board takes action. The April 9 meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. at town hall.